My name is Lily Gates and I am a local Vienna resident attending James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Upon reading Tim Peterson’s article concerning the Prayer Vigil held at the ICE Office in Fairfax (Vienna/Oakton Connection, March 1-7, 2017), I was troubled with the reported harm that executive orders are bringing to our local community. While respecting the Governor’s disclaimer about the uncertainty concerning the ICE’s reported actions, there is clearly fear of, among other things, rifts forming between Police and community members.
What concerns me the most is the continual push for efficiency at the expense of emotional empathy: a continuous problem in our nation’s struggle between the governmental systematic legislature and the “people’s” personal communities. Where documentation is unable to portray human emotion, it is the duty of United States citizens to take new perspectives and implement this legislation both ethically and empathetically. I praise the current stands for justice that our local communities are already demonstrating (i.e. the Prayer Vigil), and hope we can continue defending the rights of our fellow neighbors and community-members; not losing touch of our humanity at the expense of respecting and upholding the law.